We're framed

They finished framing last week. They were so fast and did such a nice job for us. It is so neat to look out the kitchen window and see a structure. They will start roofing tomorrow...hopefully wrap up before the rain hits on Wednesday. We're still looking at an early May completion date. I'm so excited!

Luke is 11 Months

He is growing so quickly. Each month seems to pass faster than the last. I can't believe he will be a year in less than thirty days. I think back to what we were doing...and feeling...this time last year. Being pregnant and so anxious to meet baby Doyle....it doesn't seem like that was a year ago.
Luke is developing more and more each day. It is such a joy to be around him. He really makes us laugh. He is walking around everywhere now. He will occasionally crawl if he needs to get somewhere quickly. He walks his arms straight up and will usually squeal with delight. He is so proud of his new accomplishment. He is babbling up a storm. The only words he really says are "doggy" and "dadda." They sound very similar at times. He'll point to a picture of Sean and say "Dadda." It is so precious. He loves dogs and will point at them on walks and say "doggy." Although, he also points at kids, cats, fish, ducks and birds and says "doggy." We're not quite sure what he think doggy means. Sean thinks it represents anything that makes him happy...and I totally agree. I keep saying "mama" but he hasn't picked up on that yet. He only has his front two bottom teeth....and they are still only half way up. We're wondering when the others will start to poke through. We're in no rush since the first two were a nightmare for him....and us. Luke enjoys his car and truck toys along with his cell phone and play phones. He picks them up and screams a "llllloooooo." It sounds as if he is trying to say hello. He holds it up to his ear upside down. It is such a crack up. He also loves the train table at Mimi's house. We're excited that he likes it since he got one for Christmas from Grandma. It has been boxed up at my parents house waiting for our playroom to be built. I can't wait to set it up so he can have his very own to destroy.

His hair is getting a little crazy. He just came out of the bath and it wasn't cooperating. I'm still not emotionally ready for his first hair cut.

Happy Boy!

I love the back side photos. Look at those legs!

Happy Easter

I'm a little behind with the Easter photos. We had a great Easter weekend. We celebrated with my family on Saturday and Sean's on Sunday. Luke got lots of fun toys in his numerous Easter baskets. To our surprise, he wasn't interested in finding the Easter eggs. When we were in Hawaii, Luke discovered some plastic Easter eggs in the house and they became his new favorite thing. He carried those eggs around everywhere. We thought when Easter came, he would be in heaven. Well, he couldn't care less about the eggs in front of him. Although, he did get a kick out of throwing the egg after we would hand him one to see what came out. He is still a little young for the Easter egg hunt I guess.

Luke with his new dump truck sand toy. He loves pushing this around.

The boy cousins....Jack, Declan & Luke

Victoria & Luke

The Fam

Another Dog Story

Our dogs have been causing quite a scare lately. This morning we discovered that they ate rat poison. Luckily we caught Brogan in the act. He was toward the back of the backyard chewing on a wrapper. I thought he had gotten some of the workers leftover lunch again (we had an episode last week where they didn't throw away their trash and Brogan ate Tamales. He was throwing up husk, blood and crayon for two days). After Sean got Brogan inside he went to fill their bowls and noticed what it was. We weren't sure if Guinness got any so Sean jumped in the truck with both dogs and took them to a 24 hour vet. They induced vomiting, did stool tests and also gave them charcoal and vitamin k1. Brogan ingested quite a bit while Guinness had a very minimal amount. It was a scary ordeal. They are both on vitamin k1 for a month. We're just thankful that they are okay. Hopefully this is the end of their antics. All the construction in the backyard must be throwing them off.

He's all boy!

Luke has already taken a liking to trucks. We have had some big machinery parked at our house the past couple days with the construction. We placed Luke on a John Deere and he immediately went to the steering wheel and stick shifts. As I say, "he is all boy!"

Luke and the Easter Bunny

Bottom line, Luke did not like the Easter bunny. He was freaked out. I thought since he liked Santa Claus he would be okay. Sean brought him up to the bunny while I stood taking pictures. He didn't even last ten seconds. He broke out in tears once he looked at the bunny's face. I guess from a kids perspective, that thing can look pretty scary. So, no keepsake photo with the Easter bunny this year.
After the bunny episode, we thought we would take him on the carousel. He didn't care for that either. Not even one smile.

Luke grabbed tight to my nose and neck. He wouldn't let go almost the entire ride.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Luke was wearing his green on St. Patty's Day thanks to Mimi (Sean's mom). We went to Yard House to celebrate and enjoyed some Guinness while Luke looked on.

Mr. Sensitive, Part II

I took Luke to his pediatrician today because his rash wasn't improving. The doctor said it was Eczema. Ugh! Poor kid. For coming from a family with no allergies, this kid really got hit hard. He doesn't seem to be too bothered by it in terms of itching. I feel like we never get answers when we go to doctors, just more questions. I'm taking Luke to see a natural doctor on Tuesday. She specializes in realignment, restoring and healing the body. I got a recommendation that she is wonderful and really helps, so I'm crossing my fingers.

Doggy adventure

We had an episode with our dogs the other night. It was about 9:30 and I was on the computer while Sean was sleeping on his chair. I thought it was quite and wondered where the dogs were. I opened the back door and called out for them....no answer. Sean said "they're being weird again" (the dogs play games when we want them in the house, they just stand and look at us on the lawn). I pulled open the blinds and shouted "the gate is open." Both Sean and I ran outside yelling their names. No luck. As I was going inside to get my keys, the phone rang. "Are you missing two black labs?" a lady said. "Yes!" It turns out they traveled quite aways. She said that the big dog (Brogan) was with her inside but the little dog (Guinness) wouldn't come close. Sean jumped in his car and by the time he got there Guinness was gone. He called and told me the news. I told him to start shouting his name out the window and to call me back. As I hung up the phone I said a prayer that Guinness would be okay. I was so worried because he is our timid barker. He won't approach strangers and it's hard to see a black dog at night. A second after my prayer I heard a little whimper and opened the front door to see Guinness standing there. I fell to my knees and gave him the biggest bear hug ever. I didn't let him go for a few minutes. His big brown eyes just looked at me and didn't blink the entire time. I'm sure in his little doggy mind he was thinking "help, someone got Brogan and he is in trouble!" Guinness cannot live without Brogan so it was a shock that Guinness left him behind. We were amazed that Guinness found his way back. Animals are so smart...more than people give them credit for.

Luke is walking!

Our little man is walking! Last week he was taking a few steps on his own. He'd take a couple and then fall on his bum with the third step. Over the weekend, he was really moving. He is so proud of himself. He smiles and looks up at us to make sure we're watching. It is too cute. I can't believe our little baby is starting to walk.

Luke's first shiner

Luke had his first big fall today. He fell against the face of our fireplace. We have the cushions to protect the corners, but it didn't help with the front walls. He hit it and immediately screamed out in pain. I picked him up and instantly saw the big bump and bruise on his forehead. I panicked. I know he will get many bumps and bruises during his life, but as a neurotic mom, it is really hard to deal with . I'm not going to be prepared for this part of parenting. Poor little guy. He also has a bruise on his left check from the nursery at MOPS this week. He apparently fell against the rocking chair. The lady said he is extremely active. I was like yeah, we already know that.

Happy Luke before the fall

Ouch!

Still smiling

Construction begins

Today the backyard was demoed in preparation for our garage/playroom/office. We are building a detached garage with an attached office and playroom. We are so excited. The extra room is going to help so much. We can't wait! Here are some before and after pictures. They did this in less than a day. I hope the rest of the project moves as fast.

Before

After - No more shed

Play date with Greta

Today we had a play date with Greta and Mama Rachel. We haven't seen Greta and Rachel in a few months so it was really nice to visit. Luke had fun with Greta....he even tried to eat her feet, pulled her hair as he tried to stand and shared toys. Babies are so cute together. You wonder what they think when they're around others as tiny as they are. He would babble to her and shake his hand like he was really trying to communicate with Greta. Greta is such a sweet baby girl! She has the most beautiful blue eyes.

Look at those eyes!

This picture is blurry but I thought it was too cute....you can still get the idea

Mr. Sensitive

We tried switching Luke's formula per the GI doctor. She said when he approached a year old to try Nutramigen formula (a step below Luke's current formula). Since he is now slightly over ten months, we decided to try a few bottles of Nutramigen. All seemed well at first, no apparent blood or mucous. I tested a few which actually turned out positive but I thought it was because of his diaper rash. Then I noticed that he had a rash on his hip. The rash on his hip then turned to a rash under his armpit, his knee, his thigh and his lower back. I took him to the doctor today and she confirmed that he is definitely allergic to milk. The formula is supposed to be for milk allergic babies but still has a trace amount of broken down whey product. That apparently is still too much for Luke to handle. Poor little guy. He has been really fussy these last couple days so hopefully he'll be back to his normal self after he is off the Nutramigen. It is odd that he broke out like he did considering during the whole breastfeeding saga, he never broke out in a rash, just had blood in the stool. Now it seems to be the other way around. He is our sensitive guy. The doctor said he'll be on this formula well after his first birthday. Hopefully he will outgrow this allergy.